United start their quest for a fourth final appearance in five seasons on Wednesday with a trip to Benfica, and also face Basel and Otelul Gulati in Group C. In contrast, derby foes City will be making their Champions League debut and have been drawn alongside Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Napoli. Ferguson accepts United have been lucky with their draw and does not envy his City counterpart Roberto Mancini's task in the group phase. "I think we've been very lucky in the draw because you can sometimes get a really difficult group - not just against good teams but involving travel too," said Ferguson. "You look at City's group, with Napoli, Bayern Munich and Villarreal, and that's a bloody difficult group - a glad-you're-not-in-it kind of group. "There are four teams in there capable of being in the top seven in this country so that won't be easy. "When you look at the danger teams this season you definitely think Real Madrid will be there because I'm certain they will improve this year but Bayern Munich will be in there too and they say Napoli have improved too. "Italian football is not in a good cycle of success at the moment but Napoli are doing OK and have some good players. "The cycle is with the English and Spanish teams so you'd expect those two countries to provide the teams who will be involved again in the final stages." The Red Devils have enjoyed a 100 per cent start in the Premier League this season after Ferguson put his faith in the youngsters, but he is expected to revert to an experienced line-up for the opening Champions League game away to Benfica. He added: "Experience will be important against Benfica and that's why my team might be different in Lisbon on Wednesday. "Benfica are always a handful. We always expect a difficult game there and I watched a couple of their matches away from home and they were absolutely brilliant. "There's no doubt the younger players will get good experience in the Champions League this season but the important thing is to qualify. "The home games will be better for them. Our first home game is against Basel and the young players are capable of playing in that type of game. Benfica away is one you have to respect."
